A fellow football junkie and I compare our weekly power rankings. If you missed last week’s, catch up here. Changes are marked by +/- the number of rankings. These are real emails back and forth.
Josh Kam
1. Michigan State 1. Michigan State
2. Wisconsin +3 2. Wisconsin +2
3. Penn State +5 3. Ohio State -1
J – So this week was a little rough for the league to say the least. I have MSU in a losing effort retaining my #1 spot but Wisconsin dominated WIU in the second half and owned 3 quarters against LSU. Of 8 quarters of play they have come out on top of 7 of them. Take away one truly awful quarter they are an impressive 2-0.
K – Yeah despite the loss, I have MSU at #1 still. They kept up with one of the best teams in the nation at their own game for a half, then Oregon found another level that Sparty didn’t have in the second half. I’m not as locked in on Wisconsin, especially if they struggle in the first half again like they did against WIU. They definitely showed their might in the second half at least. I’m still higher on OSU than you, I see. The loss on the big stage at home against VT is embarrassing, but they showed some fight on the 4th quarter before Barrett’s youth caught up to him again. I still think they are a top 3 big ten team going into conference play at this point.
J – My takeaway from OSU’s loss wasn’t about the offense. 24 points isn’t that bad. The d gave up 28 though. I know the offense had some turnovers, one of which was a pick-six, but Virginia Tech isn’t exactly known for their explosiveness. I’m a little worried about that side of the ball going against some of the better units in the league if I’m a Buckeye fan.
K – I’m not that worried about that unit. It is evident from this past weekend that no one has a great offense in the big ten. Especially throwing the ball.
4. Ohio State -1 4. Penn State +2
5. Iowa -1 5. Nebraska
6. Nebraska 6. Maryland +1
J – Hmm, a lot of separation now.
K – I watched PSU play Akron and well…..At least they took care of business. Hackenberg was very inconsistent. He made plays for both teams. They have to limit his mistakes come conference season. PSU does have a stable of running backs that are impressive.
J – I think more highly of that win. Dare I say it was a quality based on the week the league had? Akron has improved greatly over the last few years. If this was a MAC blog, the Zips would’ve been my sleeper.
K – Huskers stay at 5th for me. Crazy what one play can do for your rankings. I have Nebraska at 5 pretty much because of Ameer Abdullah. He is the reason they will contend in the West. We almost saw Pelini get fired on the field though. Lastly Maryland. An impressive week one win then struggles against USF on the road. They showed a lot of resiliency from their veterans to get the job done in the 4th quarter though. So what do you like/dislike about your 4,5,6?
J – Well like I said, we are seeing a lot of separation on our thoughts in the middle of this league as the teams were all over the map in week two. Buckeyes only fall a little. Despite a train wreck against Tech, they were in that game late. Pretty impressive how they almost rallied. Iowa stays upper half, much to your dismay I’m sure. If you look at the numbers against Ball State, they dominated. Doubled them up in yards and held them to just six offensive points.
K – Mistakes though, Rudock’s inability to throw the deep ball. Still don’t have a number one running back.
J – If they converted in the redzone (where all three kicks were missed from based on line of scrimmage) they would have had 21 more points.
K – The fact that they can’t, against Ball State, is a big reason why they aren’t my 5th best team in the conference.
J – I think they are closer to being the team we thought they had the potential to be. A work in progress, sure but not too far off. Just a few tweaks. As for the Huskers. Ooof, McNeese is a pretty good FCS team so let’s give some respect where respect is due. They played a great game. Let’s see how Nebraska looks at Fresno State who has been dreadful through two weeks. NU was an unknown quantity going into the year and still feel that way.
7. Indiana 7. Iowa +1
8. Michigan -6 8. Michigan -5
9. Maryland 9. Minnesota -2
J – I’ve been high on the Terps and now you are buying the stock but I was really disappointed by their game in Tampa. They should have killed that USF team. Perhaps they were looking past them towards West Virginia – I don’t know, but I want to see them play well against the Mountaineers for me to have them start climbing the rankings.
K – Let’s not dance around the elephant in the room any longer…is there any excuse for Michigan? How does that blowout happen?
J – Well its safe to say that their offensive line is not up to snuff yet. The running game produced nothing and Gardner was pressured every time he dropped back. We knew this would be a green unit, but I think we were all roped into the fact that it’s Michigan, they always have players – and then the way the obliterated Appalachian State created a lot of kool-aid drinkers…us included. As for an excuse? No, you can’t even put one drive together? Really?! My Michigan friends have Hoke done at the end of the year unless they smoke MSU or OSU. The feeling they have is 8-4 or 9-3 without one of those rivalry wins will not cut it. Thankfully they play Miami (OH) next, a team that hasn’t won a game since October 27th, 2012 so a healthy blowout should temper the nerves somewhat.
K – Well we thought they could be an outside contender to win the East. If the O line doesn’t improve, MSU and OSU will be all over them.
J – Yeah, they won’t stand a chance
10. Minnesota 10. Indiana +1
11. Rutgers 11. Rutgers +3
12. Illinois +1 12. Illinois +2
J – I call this the trio of the unknown. Gophers are 2-0 but haven’t been that sexy yet. Pretty bland vanilla team with no passing. Rutgers’ win against WSU looks less impressive thanks to Nevada blowing Washington State out and Illinois is 2-0 but talk about not being very sexy. Illinois and Iowa are having a private competition of who can look worse in an undefeated start.
K – You have it right, these teams are undefeated, but….just don’t look like they would keep up with the top teams in the conference. Just too big of a skill difference.
J – Why did you drop Indiana so far, al they did was chill at home! Hater.
K – I know you liked seeing Indiana not playing this past weekend, but they have 1 win, against Indiana St. I give more props to a 2-0 Minnesota team and Rutgers at 2-0 for a more impressive win. Indiana will get its due when they win their games.
J – Like next week when they take on Bowling Green? Can the league stop scheduling these MAC teams. They have our number! Exhibit a and b:
13. Northwestern -1 13. Northwestern +1
14. Purdue -1 14. Purdue -1
K – Oh man. How disappointing has Northwestern been? This team can’t win these close games. They might be shut out of a bowl after being a popular deep sleeper pick for the West.
J – Well I had them going 6-6 and that was relying on wins against BOTH Cal and Northern Illinois. Safe to say I have them dead to rights now
K – Just a shame that this little program has fallen off these past two years
J – Well a loss of talent and a horrible off season – there is no way to stay focused when fighting a labor dispute – gets compounded by mediocre coaching. This feel like it’s own column but if you go head to head, Fitzy’s in the bottom third
K – Losing Venric Mark looks like a huge loss now.
J – It does. For the record I have Dantonio, Meyer, Ferentz, Pelini, Anderson and Franklin better than Fitz without discussion. Edsall and Kill are also a bit better. Kyle Flood can coach (I think) but I’d say he and Pat Fitzgerald are about tied. Put Brady Hoke about on the same line as Flood/Fitz. That just leaves Beckman and Kevin Wilson behind PF. Darrell Hazell isn’t really fair to include here but his track record, or lack there of, would also put him behind Fitz. That means Fitz is tied for 4th worst coach in the league.
K – I’m not willing to put Edsall and Kill above him, maybe tied with him. Every coach goes through a slump at one point in their career.
J – When factoring in the resumes of Edsall and Kill, it’s hard to deny what they did at UConn and Northern Illinois respectively.
K – Also Purdue…….Just stop it. 3 touchdown loss at home to a MAC school. Guh!
J – Both turned around dreadful programs and made them into a conference power (Kill) and to a BCS game (Edsall). Fitzy inherited a Big Ten team as an alum under the worst possible circumstances so he was given a long lease as a result. During some of the worst years the league has seen, he managed to get NU to some bowls and win a single one of them. He has done nothing to impress me, unless you consider crying on the sideline impressive. Purdue is so bad, I kept the Northwestern conversation going without acknowledging that you were trying to acknowledge the league’s worst team. Two years is a pretty quick trigger but if they go 0-16 in two years of Big Ten play, is there any reason to bring him back?
K – Nope, that should be immediate grounds for getting canned. Who do you see making a solid jump next week?
J – Well I touched on that Maryland-WVU tilt earlier so I see a few other games that results could lead to bumping. Iowa hosts Iowa State, Minnesota travels to TCU, Illinois travels to Washington, Penn State and Rutgers get league play kicked off and Purdue at Notre Dame. We can toss out Purdue since there is no way they pull off that upset. Of the remaining group, I’m really curious about Minnesota’s trip to Texas.
K – We can find a lot out about Minnesota and Maryland in my opinion with games against TCU and WV. A little Big ten Big 12 pride on the line this weekend. Not to mention the Iowa-Iowa St matchup. Maryland could really solidify their bowl hopes with a win and jumping out to a 3-0 start.
J – Who can do the most damage to the league this week? How about Nebraska losing at Fresno who is 0-2 to pac 12 teams and outscored a combined 111 to 40.
K – Yeah I think Nebraska and Iowa losing would be tough on the conference. While Maryland will be an underdog against WV, losing could be a tough missed opportunity, more so than a major damage game.
J – Early line has Maryland 3 point favorites which is what every home team gets from Vegas so the bookmaker says they are equal teams. For the eye test it feel like WVU should be a slight, slight favorite.
K – That’s big then. Maryland needs that W. That will really boost their Big Ten profile.
J – Oh yeah, Maryland beating a .500 big 12 team at home will show ’em! It’s gonna be a while to write the wrongs of last week.
K – Unfortunately after last week, you look for positives where you can. It was really difficult this week to file these rankings, basically everyone disappointed. I think the Big Ten rep in the playoffs is probably out of the question at this point.
J – The only way to save it is if Iowa and Nebraska stay undefeated, even if ugly, and Wisconsin gets going. That’ll put 3 west teams at impressive records late. Then out east, MSU needs to go 11-1. Michigan’s beat down will continue to haunt them nationally and OSU without Miller has lost a lot of respect. If 11-1 MSU then gets either undefeated Iowa/Neb or an impressive 11-1 Wisconsin team, there is a chance. It’s not a great chance though since the Pac 12 could send two teams (Oregon and one of the LA teams seems most likely), FSU is out there, the SEC could send two if the Pac 12 doesn’t and the Big 12 has big, bad Oklahoma. Of course the Big 12’s rep no doubt took a hit thanks to Texas losing 41-7 to BYU. That Red-River Shootout is the biggest game of the year for the league and with a weak Texas people assume the league is weaker. No love for Baylor nationally, I guess
K – Baylor will get respect once they hit 6-0. OU is the favorite there. Couple SEC teams could make it in. PAC 12 will probably just send its champion. But I really think MSU is the only chance of a big 10 one loss team to make it in. I don’t think they are going to only have one loss either. No way Nebraska and Iowa go undefeated. Obviously FSU is a number favorite to make it to the final four.
J – You and I hate the tournament at just 4 teams. I think a non-power ranking point-counterpoint article should be in the works one of these days to go over this format. Until then, I think we’ve gone way off reservation and the readers have returned to pictures of cats getting stuck in things.
K – Let’s leave them with their Big Ten tears. It’s probably for the best.
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